


We Have History Together

by simpleParadox



Series: We Have Something Together [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Church is an angsty teen prepare yourself, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 02:10:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2133123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleParadox/pseuds/simpleParadox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonard Church already knew this year was going to suck, but when his ex-girlfriend who broke his heart shows up in his History class on the first day of school Church knows that it was going to be the worst year of his life. Throw in the awkward, love like feelings he was starting to have for his best friend and his life was now a cocktail of hate and dread.</p><p>And all Tucker had to say about it was "All's fair in love and war, dude."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Civil War

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, the sequel to "We Have Chemistry Together"! You don't have to read that fic in order to read this one though, so all are welcome! I hope you enjoy it :D

Sophomore year was going to suck. That’s what Leonard Church’s prediction was. Freshman year had sucked so sophomore year was going to suck by proxy. And if he was going to continue his little theory that meant that every year of high school was going suck. Maybe even his entire life. Not that he was surprised by that or anything, it just, you know, sucked, for lack of a better word.

Church was starting to list all the things that could go wrong this year in his head. If you could see how dreadful his list was you would want to give him a hug and some hot chocolate because that’s what that boy needs in life. Pessimists have nothing on him.

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating a bit. It’s just that he had been sulking for an entire year so he was used to it. It’s hard to get out of that kind of mind set.

Though now that he thinks about it, he’s pretty lucky compared to some other kids. He has good friends (albeit stupid ones), his parents were well off, he had good grades, hell he even made honor roll last year. But for some reason that stuff didn’t matter to Church. These things were what usually made people happy but Church wanted something different. He just didn’t know what yet.

He had zoned out so much that he totally forgot that he was actually walking to school, to his dreaded first day of sophomore year, and he was actually walking _with_ someone. Michael J. Caboose. Luckily Caboose had gone on one of his long tangents about something stupid so he didn’t even notice that Church wasn’t paying attention.

Church and Caboose had been friends since kindergarten. Caboose had been that one kid in class that no one would be friends with and that one kid who had parents who asked other parents to ask their kids to be friends with them. Yeah, complicated. Anyway that’s what Caboose’s parents told Church’s parents. They set the two up on a play date and Caboose instantly latched onto him like some kind of parasite. Church hated him throughout elementary school because he would always follow him around and talk about dumb stuff. Eventually Church realized that he was never going to get rid of Caboose unless he moved to Antarctica so he decided to at least try to enjoy his presence. Now Church could tolerate him, even be friendly towards him. Caboose wasn’t that bad when you ignore all the Caboose-y parts about him.

And it’s not like Church was his only friend now. Caboose had been able to become friends, or at least friendly, with a lot of Church’s friends. Like Tucker, the asshole they met in middle school who played soccer and had a boner for everyone. Tucker and Caboose don’t get along well sometimes, but after what happened between Tucker and Wash at Homecoming, well, let’s just say Tucker started hanging around them more often. No one really knows what went down between the two, whenever Church would try to ask him Tucker would shrug and change the subject. Church didn’t blame him though, he didn’t want to remember that night either.

Basically Homecoming was one of the worst nights of his life. He simultaneously got his heartbroken and embarrassed himself in front of his friends.

And it was all Tex’s fault.

Allison Texas, or Tex, had been Church’s girlfriend. They got together in the beginning of freshman year. Tex was a sophomore with a kick ass personality who wore leather jackets and smoked when she was supposed to be in class. She was way out of his league. But for some reason they worked, at least for a little while.

Even though Church thinks it’s dumb to love someone when you only know them for a little while he was pretty sure that he was hopelessly in love with Tex at that point in time. Sure, they fought and got into petty competitions but they worked well together. It was like Simmons and Grif, they shouldn’t work but they do.

And it’s not like hanging out with Tex always ended in a fight. Sometimes they would go on dates where they would just sit in the park and make fun of people. Tex would take her Dad’s motorcycle and give him rides. Tex had showed Church a whole new world of not giving a fuck. It was amazing.

Until she stood him up the night of Homecoming and moved away without saying so much as goodbye to him.

Church thought that she felt the same way about him. Obviously she didn’t.

So, here he was, starting a new year and holding onto a grudge against a girl he was probably never going to see again.

Church decided to snap out of his haze of sadness and pessimism when they were nearing the school. Caboose was now silent, looking at him with those big, blue, puppy dog eyes.

“Church?”

“Yeah?” Church asked, raising an eyebrow at his taller friend.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, concern laced in his voice.

“I’m fine,” Church spat, opening the door to the high school.

“Okay. I just don’t want you to be sad. Then again, you haven’t been happy since Home-,” Church didn’t let his friend continue talking.

“Shut up. We don’t talk about that night, remember?”

Caboose stopped walking and put a finger to his chin, as if trying to remember the exact moment they had that conversation. “Oh yeah, sorry Church.”

Church sighed and ran a hand through his black, messy hair. They started walking again but this time Church was looking down at his schedule to figure out where the hell they were supposed to be going. History with Mr. Flowers. Upstairs. Room 225b.

“Okay buddy, follow me so you don’t get lost,” Church instructed his friend. Since his Dad was the Director of the school district he was able to pull some strings to have Church and Caboose in all the same classes. Mostly it was because if Caboose didn’t have anyone to tell him where to go he would end up in another state, let alone the right classroom.

After some walking and a brief conversation about playing video games after school, the two arrived at the classroom. They were greeted by a man with dark skin and long hair up in a ponytail. He had an obnoxious smile on his face and instantly shook the two friend’s hands with a grasp that could kill a man.

“Hello there! You must be Leonard and Michael, welcome to US History! Please take a seat wherever you please, it’s going to be a pleasure to get to know you!” Mr. Flowers said, voice too chipper for what time it was.

Church already felt nauseated.

He decided to take a seat in the very back, Caboose taking the seat next to him per usual. They watched as the rest of the class started to file in. He smiled as Tucker walked into the class, taking the seat in front of Church with a smile on his face. Some more people he didn’t really know walked which he didn’t really care about. The last people to enter the classroom were Grif and Simmons, Simmons’ neck covered in hickey’s that he wasn’t hiding very well, so he could guess why they were late.

Mr. Flowers was just about to close the door and start his first day of school speech when someone stopped him.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Please, come on in and take a seat,” Mr. Flowers said as he ushered in the student.

Okay, now Church was _really_ going to throw up.

Because the person who walked in was Allison Texas.

Tex.

_Fuck._


	2. The Atom Bomb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking forever to update! I started college about a week ago and I haven't had time to write but I finally had some downtime today to write this chapter! Hopefully I'll be able to update this more regularly now that I'm starting to get into the groove of college life. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Church was about to throw himself out the fucking window. The girl who broke his heart into a million little indistinguishable pieces had suddenly shown up out of the fucking blue. What the hell was she even doing back at their school? Church was seething, fingernails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. Tucker had turned around in his seat to face Church, mouth hung open in surprise, eyes scanning his friends face.

“Holy shit dude,” Tucker whispered to him. “Are-Are you okay? You look like you’re about to spontaneously combust or something.”

Church couldn’t even open his mouth to send a half assed comeback at Tucker. His jaw was clenched tight and he could feel his head build up with pressure as Tex walked down the rows of seat and passed him, taking the seat behind Church, not saying anything.

The worst was that she looked exactly the same as she had the last time Church saw her. Long blonde hair pulled up in a neat pony tail, brown eyes hard, black boots hitting loudly against the floor with every step. The familiarity of it all sent Church back in time to when he was happy, when they were together. It made him sick.

“Church,” he heard Caboose try to whisper from beside him. He glanced at his friend, who was leaning over to try to talk to him, but his tall frame made it look like he was about to fall over. “Texas is behind you.”

“Shut the fuck up Caboose,” he hissed which promptly sent Caboose back into an upright position, but his blue eyes didn’t leave Church.

“Alright! Let’s get class started, shall we?” Mr. Flowers began, going over to his desk to get the syllabus he was about to pass out. Church was frozen in his seat though, his whole body tensing knowing that Tex was sitting right behind him.

He jumped when he felt a finger tap his shoulder. He steeled himself as he turned around, trying to make it so he didn’t look like a ticking time bomb.

“Can we talk after class?” Tex asked. She sounded guilty. _Good,_ Church thought, _she should be._

“I don’t know, am I just going to be waiting for you for an hour out in the hall? Or will you actually show up this time?” Church shot back and he had to admit he felt a little bad when he saw the pained expression cross Tex’s face for a split second before it returned back to its normal “not giving a fuck” look.

“Stop being an asshole, Leonard,” she shot back. Church hated that she used his first name. “Just meet me out in the hall.”

With that Church stayed silent and turned back around as Mr. Flowers handed him the sheet of paper that outlined their entire year. Church didn’t even look at it. He already had too much history to worry about.

Tucker, Caboose, and even Grif and Simmons were sending him worried glances throughout class. Church ignored them, heart beating fast as the clock counted down to the end of class. What the hell did she want to talk to him about? Was she going to apologize? Was she going to finally explain why she left?

He held his breath as the bell rang and everyone started to file out of the classroom. Caboose was instantly by his side, as well as Tucker, as they left the room and entered the hallway.

“Want us to wait for you?” Tucker asked, biting his lip in worry.

“I’ll be fine,” he reassured him, but his red face and furrowed eyebrows told his friends that Church was about to explode out all the anger that he had held with him for the past year.

“Church,” Caboose said, big puppy dog eyes looking at him pleadingly. “Don’t get into a fight, please.”

“I told you, I’ll be fine. Tucker, you mind taking him to his next class?” Church asked.

“Y-Yeah, no problem. Come on, Caboose,” Tucker said, grabbing Caboose’s sweatshirt sleeve to lead him to his next class. He was grateful that Tucker was actually doing what he asked for once but it was probably just because he didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of the carnage. Caboose on the other hand was stuck to the floor, reluctant to leave his best friend alone with the girl who caused him so much pain.

Church sighed, putting on a fake smile for Caboose as he rubbed his arm reassuringly. “I’ll be okay, buddy. I’ll see you in Biology in a few minutes, alright?”

After a few moments Caboose smiled and nodded, finally following Tucker as the hallway started to clear out. He turned around to see Tex standing in front of him, a few inches tall than him, face devoid of emotion for the time being.

Church crossed his arms in annoyance. “So?” he gestured for her to start talking.

“About what happened last year. I moved. That’s why I wasn’t at Homecoming,” Tex explained but it only made Church angrier.

“Yeah, I already knew that. What I want to know is why the hell you didn’t say anything to me! You didn’t tell me that you were moving, you didn’t even say goodbye!” Church could hear his voice raising pitch but he didn’t care, he just didn’t care. He had so much anger and confusion bottled up in him that he needed to let out.

“I hate goodbyes,” she told him, eyes downcast.

Church sputtered, hands raised. “That’s no excuse! You don’t just leave your boyfriend like that! Do you even know what I’ve been through for the last year? I-I thought that I had done something wrong, that I upset you in some way. Then I wondered if you ever even liked me in the first place. Hating goodbyes isn’t a reason to just abandon someone.”

Tex was quiet for a few moments as Church’s words echoed through the empty hallway. “I really did like you Church. But I knew that long distance wasn’t going to work.”

Church let out a defeated sigh, running a hand through his dark messy hair. He had never heard that much sadness in her voice before. Tex didn’t like emotions, she would always say that they stopped her from doing what she needed to. Church never asked her what it was that she needed to do but he had a feeling that it was bigger than some high school relationship. Didn’t stop him from being pissed off though.

“You could’ve told me that,” he heard his voice crack and felt his eyes start to water. Fuck, he didn’t want to cry in front of her. “You could’ve said goodbye.”

“I couldn’t. If I said goodbye then it meant that it was the end. Not saying goodbye is easier, it means that there’s always potential for someone to come back,” Tex explained, reaching out to grab Church’s hand but he moved it out of her reach.

“You can’t just expect everyone to have the same outlook on life as you,” Church told her.

“I know. But I want to try again,” Tex said with a small smile.

Church was silent. He had often fantasied about Tex coming back and jumping into his arms, telling him that she was sorry and that she wanted to get back together. Every time Church would say yes and they would kiss and drive off to who knows where on Tex’s motorcycle. But now that it was actually happening Church didn’t feel the same way. He knew that their relationship was toxic from the start. Trying it again would just be…catastrophic. He couldn’t go through that again.

“I’m sorry,” was all he said, shaking his head solemnly. They stood there in the empty hallway in silence, Church refusing to look at Tex.

After a few moments Tex finally said, “Okay. I should get to class. Friends?”

Church raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t even sure if he was ready for that. “Maybe,” he said with a shrug. And with that Tex nodded and walked away, this time with a little less confidence in her step. Church let out a sighed. He felt like he was going to throw up. That was the most emotional thing that had happened to him since Homecoming and he just wanted to skip school and play video games and forget that he had feelings.

He couldn’t do that though. Caboose would want to know that he was okay, even if he wasn’t. So with that he walked down to Biology. The teacher didn’t punish him for being late since it was the first day. Luckily Caboose didn’t have a lab partner yet (the kid probably pleaded with the teacher to make Church his partner) so he sat down next to his friend who was looking at him expectantly.

“Church? You okay?” he asked, nothing but worry in his voice.

“I’m fine,” he lied. He felt terrible. He felt like he had been shot five times in the chest. He knew that he would be making the painful decision but God did it hurt like hell. And it would keep hurting every time he saw Tex. It’s almost like nothing changed.

“I know how to cheer you up!” As usual Caboose saw right through his lie. The teacher shushed him and Caboose said the next thing in a hushed voice, “We can play video games at my house and order pizza.”

Church smiled at his friend with tired eyes and said, “Yeah, buddy, that sounds great.”

“Good, because I don’t like it when you’re sad.”

And with that Church smiled genuinely for the first time in a year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also you all should listen to Our Perfect Disease by The Wombats because it's the perfect Chex song.


	3. United Nations (Sort Of)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so so sorry for not updating in a while! I have been so busy with college, I honestly didn't expect to be this busy. I just haven't had any time to write. 
> 
> So, with how my schedule has been going, I probably won't be updating as much as I would like to. I do have another chapter already written which I will put up a few days after this one, but to be honest I have no idea when I'll be writing the chapter after that one. It could be right away or it could be a month from now. 
> 
> Again, I am very sorry that my updating will be sporadic but it's just the best I can do right now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and keep a look out for another update sometime within the next couple days!

“Then she said she wanted to try again. _Try again._ Can you believe that? After all the shit she put me through?” Church shook his head as he watched his character on screen shoot Caboose’s character right in the head. “Ha! Head shot! Suck my balls, Caboose.”

“Are you?” Caboose asked, his voice soft and quiet.

“Am I what?” Church asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend. They had gone over to Caboose’s place after school and were currently waiting for their pizza to arrive by playing video games to pass the time. Church thought that they were both having a good time but Caboose look almost…pale. It was odd.

“Going to try again with Tex,” he explained, eyes fixated on the screen in front of them.

Church paused for a few seconds as he tried to decipher his friend’s weird mood. Then he just chalked it up to Caboose being Caboose and answered his question. “No. After everything that happen, I just can’t.”

Caboose’s blue eyes shot from the screen to Church’s face in a flash, his face regaining its normal color. “Oh, okay. Whatever makes you happy, Church,” he smiled.

Church was about to say something when he heard the doorbell ring from downstairs. Pizza has arrived. As he started to take out his wallet to get his money ready for the pizza delivery person, Caboose stopped him.

“My mom left some money downstairs in the kitchen,” Caboose told him. “You don’t have to pay.”

“Are you sure? I mean with everything going on with…you know…,” Church bit his lip. Caboose’s parents were older than most parents and about a year ago his Dad was diagnosed with cancer. From then on they have been doing tests and all sorts of procedures on him to try to get rid of the cancer infecting his body, which meant that they were spending a lot of money on hospital bills. His Dad wasn’t getting any better.

“It’s-It’s fine. Mommy said it was fine.” And with that Church felt his heart drop. Caboose usually acted like a child but at that point he could see how sad he was, how he reverted back to his younger self as he thought about everything going on, about how he could lose his father. It just made every bone in Church’s body ache.

“Okay,” Church said then left the room as quickly as he could so he wouldn’t see Caboose’s sad face. Of course the kid annoyed him to no end but he was his best friend. He cared about him. A lot. Sometimes more than he was willing to admit. There was just something about Caboose that made Church stick around him. Something that Church didn’t take a lot of time to look into.

Even though Caboose said he would pay for it, Church ignored the money placed on the kitchen table and paid for the pizza out of his own wallet. Hopefully Caboose wouldn’t notice.

His tall friend’s face instantly lit up when Church returned with the box of pizza and two cans of soda. They started to dig in as they unpaused their game.

“Church,” Caboose started as he finished a bite of pizza. “Do you think you’ll ever be with someone again?”

Now Church was really confused. Caboose never acted like this. He sounded really…mature. And scared. It was really freaking Church out.

“I don’t know, buddy. If I find the right person to be with, then yeah, of course,” he answered. They both had taken their eyes away from the screen, instead looking at each other with an intensity that would make anyone else other than them uncomfortable.

They were silent for a little while before Caboose spoke again. “How come when you order the pizza it’s shaped like a circle, but when you pull it apart it turns into a triangle?”

There he is. Old Caboose. Church was starting to get worried there for a minute or two.

* * *

 

When Church got home he instantly went to his room to lay down on his bed. He was emotionally exhausted from the day he had. His thoughts kept drifting back to Tex. Why did she want to get back together? What would happen if they did get back together? Was he wrong to turn her down?”

“Hey loser, you in there?” he heard a knock at his door.

Church rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, come in.”

Carolina, his older sister, opened his door and stepped into his room. She was wearing a t-shirt with their schools name on it, sweatpants, and her fire red hair was wet and put up in a bun. She must’ve just gotten back from swim practice, seeing as she’s captain of the swim team.

“Long day, little bro?” She asked, raising an eyebrow as she sat on the edge of his bed.

“Very long day,” he sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “How do you know if you made the right decision about something?”

“Is this about Tex being back?” she asked. Carolina never liked Tex, ever since the first time she met her. Church didn’t know why, maybe it was because his sister felt threatened by her or something.

“So, you’ve heard,” Church said, sitting up on his bed so he was sitting shoulder to shoulder with her.

“Of course I’ve heard. It’s all anyone talked about today. Heard you two got in a pretty nasty fight,” she told him.

“It wasn’t a fight, we were just talking,” he explained. “She wanted to get back together.”

“What did you say?”

“I said no. Not after what she did to me.”

“Good,” Carolina said with a sly smile.

“Listen, I know you hate her, but an unbiased opinion on the matter would be great right now. The only person I’ve told to about this today was Caboose and he just got all weird about it,” Church told her, running a hand through his black hair.

“Weird how?” she asked.

“I don’t know, he just looked really sad when I told him she wanted to get back together with me,” he shrugged, not really knowing how to describe it.

A smile flashed across Carolina’s features for a split second before it vanished. Church didn’t even notice it.

“Well, if you want my unbiased opinion, I think you did the right thing. She had really hurt you and it probably would’ve just happened again if you got back into a relationship with her. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to be friends again, or at least mutual acquaintances, but saying no was a good idea,” Carolina said. “Also I hated seeing you so hurt like that.”

Church bumped her arm with his elbow. “Shut up.”

Carolina pushed back, Church falling down onto the mattress. “Remember who’s stronger, _Leonard_.”

“Ugh, you suck,” Church wined as he sat back up.

“How’s Caboose’s Dad doing?” she changed the subject.

Church shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. “Not good. They’re trying everything nothing helping. Even the chemo stopped working.”

“Does Caboose understand what’s going on?”

“I think so,” Church sighed. “It’s just-he’s not who he used to be, ever since this happened. I mean, he’s still dumb little Caboose, but now I catch him in these sad moods where he won’t talk or eat or do anything. I hate seeing him like this.”

“Now you know how I felt when I saw you so upset,” she said, patting his back reassuringly. “What Caboose is going through right now is really hard so you should try to be there for him. It’s funny, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you express so much care for him.”

Church didn’t even know what to say to that. It was true that he had gotten closer to Caboose ever since they found out the news about his Dad. In the beginning it was just out of respect but now it’s weird not being around Caboose. He would see him every hour at school then after school and sometimes they would skype at night before they went to bed. Most of the time it’s Church yelling at him to follow him to class, or to stop turning the Xbox off by accident, or to shut up whenever he said something really stupid. But he couldn’t help but feel dizzy whenever he saw his friend smile or laugh or when he hugged him. What did that mean? Was Church getting sick too?

“You should tell him how you feel about him,” Carolina said, breaking the short silence between them.

Church’s eyes went wide. “W-W-What?!”

Carolina laughed. “Please, I see the way you look at him. That’s not just friendship, you dork.”

“I-I don’t love Caboose!”

“That’s what they all say,” Carolina grinned and stood up from his bed.

“I don’t! He’s an idiot, he falls on his face all the time, I always have to take care of him, he’s annoying, and stupid, and-,”

“You’re with him all the time, you always sit close together, he lets you wear his sweatshirts when you get cold, you pay for his meals when you go out-,”

“SHUT UP!”

And with that Carolina turned and left his room, a smile still plastered on her face.

Now Church really didn’t feel good. No, he didn’t like Caboose, not like that. Most of the time he didn’t even like Caboose as a friend.

Even though everything Carolina had just said with true.

It’s just-

Who could love that idiot?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Hint: it's Church)


	4. Peace Treaty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than expected to put up so I apologize again. Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter!

The rest of the week went by uneventfully. A few of Church’s friends had asked about what happened between him and Tex and he would explain in vague detail what happened. His friends don’t need to know that much about his personal life.

He saw Tex every day in History and occasionally in the hallways. She would greet him some of the time and Church would just nod at her, not finding the courage to say anything. He was still unsure about this whole situation between the two of them and it was making him antsy. Along with what Carolina had said about him having feelings for Caboose it just made him feel more confused than anything. What did he really want?

After school on Friday, Church decided to go to Caboose’s house to bitch about his problems with Tex. Caboose was a surprisingly good listener so he figured that would be his best bet if he wanted to get some of these gross _feelings_ out of his system.

Caboose’s Mom greeted him at the door with a hug and a kiss to the cheek, pinning over how big he’s gotten and how she can’t believe that him and her little baby Caboose are already in high school, and she needed to make him some cookies to bring back home. This happened pretty much every time he came over to his house. Which was every day. Church just nodded at Mrs. Caboose before running upstairs and into Caboose’s room.

He found Caboose lying on his bed, reading a _Vogue_ magazine with an incredulous look on his face, one eyebrow skyward and his front teeth biting down on his bottom lip.

“Uh, hey buddy, whatcha got there?” he questioned, sitting down on the edge of the bed as Caboose sat up and swung his legs over the bedside so he was sitting next to Church.

“Biscuit gave me this,” he told him, holding up the magazine. He meant Donut. For some reason he calls him every other pastry besides his name. “Apparently I’m not fashionable. I like to think I’m trying though.”

“I think you’re fashionable, buddy,” Church smacked on a grin and patted Caboose on the shoulder. He then took the magazine and threw it in the trash can that was by his bed. “You shouldn’t borrow stuff from Donut.”

“Okay,” Caboose nodded.

“Great, now it’s time to talk about my problems,” Church said, lying down on Caboose’s bed and positioning his arms behind his head. He then proceeded to bitch about Tex for forty five minutes, plus the ten minutes he spent eating Mrs. Caboose’s wonderful cookies. Caboose listened, nodding a few times to reassure Church that he was still listening intently.

That’s when Caboose said something that caught him off guard.

“Church, did you kiss taxes?” he asked, an innocent look scribbled on his smooth face.

“Texas, you mean Texas,” he started out before sitting back up to give Caboose a look. “And yeah, why?”

Church instantly saw Caboose grow nervous. His friends gaze was now on the floor and he was rubbing the back of his neck as he stuttered to get his words out. “W-What’s it like? To kiss someone?”

Church widened his blue eyes. “Why do you ask, buddy?” he was using a softer tone with Caboose, he knew when his friend felt genuinely nervous or uncomfortable so he would use his calmer voice to make him feel a little better.

“It’s just- I was reading about kissing and stuff in the magazine Biscuit gave me, and I was just curious,” he explained, still refusing to look at Church.

“Oh,” Church said, in response. He tried to think of the best way to describe kissing in a way Caboose would understand. “Well, sometimes it just feels like pressure. A nice pressure though, something that reminds you that you’re connected to the person you’re kissing. Then there’s the wet and kind of gross kind which is actually really hot so it doesn’t matter that it’s slobbery and gross.”

Caboose nodded and grinned at the statement.

“Caboose, have you ever kissed anyone?” Church asked, though he already knew the answer. Caboose told him everything, he would’ve known if he had kissed someone. He just asked for courtesy’s sake.

Caboose shook his head with a frown. “No, I haven’t.”

“Do you want to?” Church pressed.

Caboose gave a shrug of his broad shoulders in response, finally shifting his lighter blue eyes from the floor to Church’s. “Yeah, I mean it’s not like I’m really eager or anything, it would just be nice to have the experience. I like experiencing new things.”

Church frowned at this. The tone in his friend’s voice had grown sadder. He knew that Caboose was aware of the affect he had on a lot of people, maybe he realized that finding someone to kiss him would be harder for him than for anyone else. Church had no idea why he said this next, maybe it was because he was angry about Tex, maybe it was because of all the talk of kissing, or maybe he just felt bad for his friend.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” Church asked quickly. He saw Caboose’s surprised look and Church quickly thought of an explanation. “You know, I figured if it’s just the experience you want then I wouldn’t mind…”

Caboose smiled and moved closer to Church so that there was no space between them. “I would like that Church.”

Church didn’t really expect Caboose to say yes. Had Carolina been right? Did he really like Caboose like that? No, he didn’t, he was just helping out his friend, right? He was still kind of looking dumbfounded when he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. His brain quickly thought of something to help his heart: _come on Church, who doesn’t kiss their best friend at one point?_

Church gave a quick shout out to his brain for calming him down. This would be fine. One little peck, that’s all. “Okay, just, stay still and close your eyes.”

Caboose did as he was told and it took a few deep breaths before Church was able to close the gap between them with his lips. Once he made contact with Caboose’s lips he felt his friend start to purse them, so it wasn’t as awkward.

Kissing Caboose was a lot different than kissing Tex. With Tex it was always rushed and rough, teeth clanking together awkwardly as she tried to deepen in. She tasted like cigarettes and metal, always making Church gag a bit at first. Kissing Tex was raw, all power and passion.

Caboose was different. Caboose tasted like sugar and chocolate and everything nice. His lips were soft and sweet, connecting to Church’s lightly but also with the perfect amount of pressure that made a kiss a kiss. It was nice.

Church didn’t like it when they broke apart. He wanted to keep kissing him and feeling the sunshine of his lips. Caboose was smiling at Church when he opened his eyes, a smile that was so genuine that it could literally blind someone.

“That was ni-,” Church didn’t like him finish his sentence. He had grabbed Caboose by the collar of his shirt and brought him in for another, much deeper and passionate kiss.

 _Quick brain, give me an explanation for this,_ Church pleaded.

_You told him that there were two kinds of kissing, right? It would be wrong to show him just one._

Chalk another one up for Church’s good ‘ole brain.

Caboose seemed surprised at first, arms out to his sides as if he didn’t have any idea where to put them. They soon settled at Church’s side, his friend’s thumbs rubbing circles into his t-shirt in a soothing way.

If there was one thing Caboose was good at, it was kissing. The kid picked up quickly, either that or he remembered all the tricks from that magazine he was reading. Caboose parted his lips and lunged forward to deepen the kiss, his tongue sliding into Church’s mouth.

Church let out a quiet moan that he was sure Caboose heard and one that he mentally slapped himself for. But it just felt so damn _good._ Making out with Caboose was like making out with butter, he just softened and slid into you with ease.

The pace started to pick up and Church was clutching Caboose’s side as he felt his pants get tighter. He hoped Caboose didn’t notice. He suddenly felt Caboose giggle against his lips, their tongues still dancing around each other, and in a second he was being pushed down on the bed, Caboose straddling him.

Church was about to whine about the lack of contact and the harsh push his friend gave him but Caboose was there to shut him up. He kissed him again with the same amount of ease as before and Church just melted underneath him. Damn, who would’ve thought he would end up making out with his best friend and getting a boner.

_Okay brain, explain this please._

But all his brain gave him was static, too distracted by Caboose kissing him and his friends hands traveling, oh, downwards it seemed. Church grabbed tighter to Caboose and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. Church slid his thigh in between Caboose’s legs because God, he wanted to hear his moan. It was all air and squeaks that came from his friend and Church couldn’t help but smile against his lips.

Caboose instantly pulled away, looking down at Church with awe and his own smile, the thin lipped, cheek to cheek smile that showed a content Caboose.

“What?” Church asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend, a small laugh escaping him. He couldn’t help it if he was happy. Caboose’s happiness seemed to be infectious and the disease had now traveled like mono to Church.

“Nothing, it’s just I haven’t seen you smile in a while. It’s nice.”

That’s when Church decided that he should kiss Caboose more often.


	5. Red Scare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the wait! I've been busy and just haven't had a lot of inspiration for this story. I hope to be better with the rest of the updates for this story but I'm not making any promises. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait!

The loud blowing of a whistle sounded throughout the air of early fall. “Nice goal Tucker! You’ll make varsity in no time!” The coach of their high school soccer team howled at one of his star players, who just so happened to be one of Church’s best friends.

Church was surprised by how much progress Tucker had made over the past year. Soccer was probably the only thing the kid took seriously. Ever since the night-that-must-not-be-named Tucker had been spending a majority of his free time practicing the sport. He wasn’t able to make the team last year but this year he instantly became a part of their schools junior varsity team and by the coaches loud yelling, it looked like he was working his way up to the top in no time.

The wind blew quickly and sent a chill down Church’s spine. It was getting colder and he wished that Caboose was there to give him his oversized sweatshirt like he usually did when his friend got cold. But unfortunately he was the reason why he was at the soccer field in the first place.

After he made out with Caboose, his best friend, an idiot with no filter, a cute mess of a person, Church had left with a quiet good bye and spent the rest of the night trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

What he had concluded was that he needed to talk to someone about his…situation. His first thought was to talk to Carolina, but remembering their conversation from the other day, he was sure it would just be a montage of “I told you so”. The same went for if he talked to Grif and Simmons. Donut would probably make a bunch of screeching noises with Doc looking on helplessly in the background, and besides, he wasn’t on very close terms with Donut anyway. Wash was out of the option, considering he promised Tucker he would never speak to the dude again.

So, all that left was Tucker. He was sure that he was going to get a few jokes from him but it’s possible that Tucker would give him some good advice. Maybe. It was always hit or miss with Tucker, but he figured if there was someone just willing to let him rant then that would be enough to help him clear his mind.

The coach blew the whistle again, ending practice. Tucker walked off the field with all his gear, a damp towel wrapped around his neck and a half empty water bottle in his hand, and went straight for Church. Church never bothered to come to his practices so he figured that Tucker would be somewhat suspicious from the start.

“Hey, ‘sup? Come to see the champion in action for once?” Tucker raised an eyebrow and smirked, leaning against the chain linked fence that separated the two.

“I need to talk to you about something.” Church could feel his face start to heat up already. God, this was going to be a bitch to talk about.

Tucker suddenly stashed away his bravado and looked at his friend with worried eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I, uh,” Church stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact with Tucker. “I made out with Caboose yesterday,” he said in a rush, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

“Holy shit dude,” Tucker stared at him wide eyed. “About time you hopped on the Caboose and took a train ride.” Yup, there was the innuendo he expected from Tucker.

“Very funny, asshole,” Church spat, although he wasn’t really angry for once in his life. He was just glad that Tucker was still standing there waiting for him to explain what was on his mind.

There was a moment of silence when all that could be heard was the wind fluttering the fallen leaves around the field.

“So…?” Tucker broke the silence, talking a sip from his water bottle.

“So, what do I do?” Church asked.

“What do you mean?” Tucker looked at him like he had just grown another head. “I don’t see what the problem is here.”

“Tucker, I _kissed_ Caboose. A lot. With tongue.”

“Okay, too much information dude, I don’t need to know the details,” Tucker said, wrinkling his face in disgust. “Sorry, I just don’t really know what you want me to say? Like ‘congrats on hooking up with your best friend’? Or ‘dude, since when did you turn gay’? Maybe even ‘it was bound to happen, just hop on that train and ride it all the way to orgasm station’?”

“First, ew, you’re gross.” Now it was Church’s turn to make the disgusted face. “Second, you don’t turn gay. I guess I’m just…bisexual? I haven’t really thought about it much. And who are you too judge, you’re pan!”

Tucker put a finger to his chin in mock thought. “Well, I never remember being straight. Came out of the womb lovin’ everybody.”

“Whatever, the specifics aren’t the point. I guess I’m asking…what do I do now? Like do I just move on and pretend it didn’t happen? Do we become friend with benefits? Or do we actually make something out of this?” Church sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. His head hurt. “Do I even want to date Caboose? What would that even be like?”

“Well, do you like-like him?” Tucker asked.

“Seriously, what are we, in the fourth grade?” Church shot a look at his friend.

“You know what I mean, fuckass.”

“I…think so? Whenever I’m around him I feel kinda dizzy, but in a good way,” Church tried to explain.

“If you like him then you date him. That simple,” Tucker told him confidently.

“But it’s not!” Church yelled, throwing his hands up into the air. Why was this so hard for him?

“You know this is all about Tex, right?” Tucker told him bluntly.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Tucker sighed, kicking the fence lightly with his cleats. “You’re afraid that if you date him, you’ll end up losing him. Just like what happened with Tex.”

Church turned silent. He was right. He was one hundred fucking percent right. He was terrified of losing his best friend. If he had gone through that much pain from dating a girl for a few months, what kind of pain would he go through if his best friend broke his heart?

Tucker took his silence as understanding. “You understand now?”

“Y-Yeah,” was all Church was able to say.

“So, date him.”

Church gaped at him. “Wait, how is that supposed to help?”

“You can’t live in constant fear of losing people, Church. People will come and go from your life, it’s just something that you have to accept. It hurts like hell, I get that, but when it comes down to it, the person that left you makes you the person that you are. You’re not defined by that loss, you’re defined by how you take that pain and make it into something that can better you. In this case you will know how to be the best boyfriend to Caboose because you have already gone through the worst relationship possible,” Tucker breathed out at the end, fists clenched as if he was trying to convince himself too.

Church blinked. “What the hell? What kind of shitty YA novel did you steal that from?”

Tucker groaned in annoyance. “I don’t know! I’ve just had a lot of time to think, okay?”

“I think you’re right though. I can’t be scared forever,” Church admitted. “But you know what I can do? Run away and never come back to face my problems. I think I’ll go with that.” Church turned to sprint away from this heart to heart conversation when Tucker grabbed the back of his shirt to keep him in place.

“Church I swear to God if you don’t ask this stupid kid out by the end of the week I’m going to chop off your balls and feed them to a warthog,” Tucker threatened through gritted teeth.

“Okay, okay! I’ll do it, just please leave my balls out of this,” Church surrendered. Tucker smiled in victory.

“Now that that’s cleared up, I’m going to go home and take a must needed shower. Good luck dude,” Tucker said as he walked around the fence, patting his friends back as he walked away.

“But what if he says no!” Church yelled as he walked away.

“All’s fair in love and war, dude!” He waved, not bothering to turn back around as he walked into the parking lot.

Church grumbled, crossing his arms in frustration. Why did Tucker have to be right?

* * *

 

After dinner Church hibernated in his room playing video games, brain on auto pilot as he shot through the hordes of enemies. Thunder cracked loudly from outside as rain pelted his window. The lightening lit up the dark skies as grey clouds drifted through their little suburb.

Since they didn’t have school that day, he didn’t see Caboose, but that didn’t stop his friend from texting him continuously throughout the day. Church didn’t answer him once.

He felt bad. Most of the reason why he didn’t answer was simply because he was confused and embarrassed. But now that he knew he was going to ask him out on a date it was mostly just out of fear. He was nervous as all hell. Caboose was his best friend. What if he fucked it up?

His phone vibrated again next to him and Church was planning on ignoring it until he realized that it wasn’t a text he was getting. Someone was calling him.

He picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID. Caboose. Church froze, thumb hovering over the green answer button.

 _Come on Church, just answer it!_ Church bit his lip then answered the phone, knowing that he could hang up if things got too awkward.

“Hello?” he answered. His heart clenched when there was silence on the other end of the phone. “Caboose?”

“C-Church?” Caboose stuttered, his voice cracking as though he was crying. A sob sounded through the phone. He was still crying.

Church instantly stood up from his seat on his bed, not even bothering to pause his game. He instantly forgot about all his fear and was now incredibly worried about the crying Caboose on the phone.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Church asked, afraid of the answer.

Thunder cracked once more, shaking the house.

“Dad died.”


	6. The Marne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions and talk of death and hospitals. 
> 
> Sorry, this chapter is really angsty and sad. 
> 
> Oh and if you ever want to ask me questions about my fics or anything, feel free to head over to my tumblr to do so! I'm more likely to answer stuff over there than on AO3. It's dextersgrifs.tumblr.com 
> 
> Also if you need a hug after this chapter I apologize.

_"If you must mourn, don't do it alone."_

Over the next five minutes Church was able to get some information out of Caboose. He was at Austin State General Hospital. His Dad had been admitted after he reported an intense amount of pain. His Mom was in the room with his Dad. Caboose was sat outside the room. Alone.

Church told him he would be there as soon as he could. He hung up and threw his phone harshly down on the bed. Fuck. _Fuck._ He was so fucking angry. His hands were balled tightly into fists as he felt red hot rage surge through him. He wanted to punch something, to break something, to yell as loud as he could so the whole neighborhood could hear just how angry he was.

But he suppressed it. For once in his god damn life he suppressed his anger. Because he had to be there for Caboose.

God, Caboose didn’t deserve this.

Church felt tears start to drip down his face. His throat was caught with all the profanities he wanted to scream. His eyes were shut tight as he pictured Caboose crying alone in a blinding white hallway, knowing that his life had just crumbled down around him. Church hurt for him. His chest felt hollow and his legs started to shake. It was hard to keep standing.

 _No,_ Church hissed at himself. _Keep standing. For Caboose._

After taking a few deep breaths Church’s mind went into overdrive. First thing he needed to do was get a ride to the hospital.

His Dad had left for the week, he was going to some kind of conference downtown so he took his car. Carolina was at a late night swim practice and took her car. He would have to get a ride from someone else.

He couldn’t ask Tucker because he was grounded from everything besides school and soccer practice. Wash was out of the question, the guy wouldn’t even give him the time of day let alone his car. Grif hadn’t bothered to get his license yet and Simmons preferred riding a bike, despite his leg. All of Carolina’s friends were on the swim team, so they were at practice with her, so they were ruled out. And Donut and Doc lived all the way on the other side of town. That only left one person.

Fucking hell, he had to call Tex. Of course, this is some kind of cosmic karma, huh? _Swallow your goddamn pride, Church. Call her. Now._

Church listened to his subconscious because at this point he didn’t care. They could sit in god damn silence the whole time and he wouldn’t care. He just needed to get to Caboose as fast as possible.

Church prayed that Tex had kept the same phone number from a year ago as the phone stated to ring.

 _“Hello?”_ Church let out a sigh of relief. Tex’s voice sounded on the other side of the phone.

“H-Hey Tex. It’s me, Church.” He hadn’t realized how much his voice wavered until he finally spoke. Anyone with ears could tell he was upset.

 _“Leonard?”_ Shit, did she really have to use his real name at a time like this? _“What’s wrong?”_

Church almost laughed because she sounded genuinely concerned. He knew she said that she wanted to be friends again but he assumed she wouldn’t give a shit about him after he gave her the cold shoulder. Tex was always full of surprises.

“I need a ride to Austin State General,” he spoke quickly, staring down at his bed sheets as he waited for a reply.

 _“The hospital? Why?”_  

“C-Caboose’s Dad died. He-He needs me,” Church stuttered, more tears streaming down his cheeks as he said those words.

 _“Say no more. I’m on my way.”_ Then she hung up.

Church stared at his phone for a few moments in disbelief. He didn’t expect it to be that easy. He quickly shook his head. He shouldn’t be thinking about the enigma that was Allison Texas at the moment. He should be grateful and getting ready for her to arrive at his doorsteps in a few minutes.

He quickly grabbed a blue hoodie, one that just happened to be Caboose’s, and put up his hood, since it was still raining like crazy outside. He ran downstairs and grabbed a sheet of paper from the printer and wrote a quick note for Carolina when she got home from practice.

_At the hospital. Mr. Caboose died and Michael needed me. Don’t know when I’ll be back. Call me if you need me._

It was weird calling Caboose Michael, he rarely did it. He figured he should make the difference between the Caboose’s though, considering that was their last name.

There was one more thing he needed to get before he left. He opened his pantry and grabbed a box of unopened chocolate chip cookies. Caboose’s favorite.

The doorbell rang right as he zipped up his backpack. He froze, hearing thunder crack and shake the house again. Tex was here and he had to deal with it. She was nice enough to drive him to the hospital, he needed to put his grudge on the backburner for now.

As he opened the door he saw Tex, dressed him her usual leather jacket, dark jeans, and combat boots. Her blonde hair was soaked and she was holding a helmet under arm. Church looked behind her and saw that she had driven her motorcycle here. Great.

“Are you okay?” She asked, eyes wide as she looked at her ex-boyfriend.

“Let’s get going,” Church ignored her question and went to push past her, but was stopped when Tex pushed him back.

“I need to know if you’re going to be okay,” she sternly told him, grabbing his shirt collar with her fist.

“Why do you care?” Church spat, eyes already swelling up with tears.

“Because I need to know if you’re going to be strong enough to hold onto me when we’re on the motorcycle,” she told him matter-of-factly.

“I’ll be fine,” he lied. He had no idea if his shaky hands would be able to hold onto the person that broke his heart.

“Bullshit. I want this stupid feud between us to be over, got it? I apologized. I moved on. Obviously you have too,” Tex pointed out.

Church stared at his feet, the rain hitting him harshly as they both stood on his front step awkwardly. Church knew she was right. He moved on from her. Why couldn’t he forgive her? Was he just being stupid? The answer was, yeah, probably.

The teen moved his head to look at Tex in the eyes. He was looking for something, _anything_ to make him forgive her. But his brain stayed quiet. They stood in silence, looking at each other in the rain. Tex had her arms crossed and Church felt like he was in a goddamn Arctic Monkeys song. Lightening flashed and thunder cracked that made him flinch and suddenly he was shaking again.

“I’m sorry for being an asshole. I’m a terrible person and I don’t know how to get over this stupid grudge I have against you. I-I want to try to be friends with you. I really want to stop this but I can’t. Not right now. Right now I need to be at that hospital with Caboose,” Church told her strongly, tears mixing with rain water as he avoided eye contact.

Tex put a tentative hand on his shoulder. “You really care about him, don’t you?”

Church swallowed hard. “More than you know.”

“Then let’s get going,” she said and dragged him by the hand to her motorcycle. Was it even safe to ride a motorcycle in the middle of a thunderstorm?

“Here, put this on.” She handed him a helmet that he quickly put on his head. “Austin State General isn’t far from here, shouldn’t take long.” Tex straddled the seat of her motorcycle and Church copied her movements.

“Hold on tight,” she warned as she revved the engine. Church wrapped his arms around Tex, something he never thought he would be doing every again, and held on for dear life as they sped out of his driveway and to the hospital.

Now the rain felt like rocks hitting against his exposed skin. It was cold and wet and stung but he had to endure it. He needed to get to Caboose. He shut his eyes tightly and waited until they stopped.

“We’re here,” Tex told him as she parked her motorcycle in a free parking spot outside the hospital, taking off her helmet. “Do-Do you want me to come in with you?”

Church took off his helmet and ran a hand through his flattened black hair. “No, I’ll be okay. Thank you, for driving me here, I mean.”

Tex nodded at him. “No problem.”

Church put his helmet down on the motorcycle then went over to Tex, arms awkwardly outstretched, not even touching her.

“Please, spare me the awkward hug,” she laughed. That was the first time he had seen her smile in the longest time. Maybe that was the thing that would help him forgive her. Just knowing that she’s happy. Knowing that she could smile like this.

“Alright. I’ll see you later I guess,” Church said, backing up and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Tell Caboose I’m sorry. I hope he’s going to be okay,” Tex told him sincerely.

Church nodded and watched as she sped away, leaving behind the sound of a roaring engine and splashes of rain water. Church smiled slightly but it quickly went away when he started walking towards the hospital doors. Images flashed in his head to white hallways, sobs echoing down corridors, Caboose with tears streaming down his face. Church started running.

Once he was inside he ran towards the nearest receptionist’s desk.

She seemed surprised as he approached the desk as if he’d been running for a mile. “Do you know where Joe Caboose’s room is?”

“Who is asking?” she asked, twirling a pen in her hand.

“My name is Leonard Church, his son, he needs me-,” he was instantly cut off.

“Yes, I’ve been told you might stop by. His room is number 57, right down that hallway,” she told him, pointing her pen towards the hall behind her.

“Thanks,” he said then rushed down the hall, hoping to God that he wouldn’t slip on the wet tiled floor.

He came to a sliding halt when he arrived at room 57. Caboose was exactly where he said he was, outside the door. He was curled up in a ball, head on his knees. It was so quiet except for the small sniffling and the faint drops of rain hitting the hospital roof.

“Caboose?” It came out barely as a whisper. His friend slowly lifted his head to look at him. Church started crying the instant he did because his face was beat real, eyes puffy and cheeks tear stained.

“C-Church…” Caboose said before he started crying again. Church had to swallow the sob threatening to escape his throat. Caboose needed him. He needed to be strong. But it was so hard.

Church fell to his knees beside his friend and wrapped his arms around him tightly. Maybe this is what Tex meant when she asked if he was okay to hold onto her. She wanted to make sure he would be able to hold onto Caboose too.

“I’m so sorry,” Church told him, burying his face in the crook of his neck as he held on tightly to him. Caboose turned so their heads came together, his hands tightly holding onto the sweatshirt he gave Church. “I’m so sorry,” he repeated, moving to pepper small kisses all over Caboose’s face. He didn’t care that he hasn’t asked him out yet. He didn’t care that they weren’t labeled. Church wanted him and he knew Caboose wanted him too. They were together before they even knew it. So, Church was going to kiss him. Kiss him to make them both feel better.

They stayed like that for a while, the two of them holding onto each other as if for dear life. Church would whisper reassuring things into Caboose’s ear as he cried.

After a few more minutes of silence Caboose asked, “Will you stay with me?” He was looking at him with pleading blue eyes, somehow still shining through the redness around his pupils.

Church nodded and said, “Always.”

After that Caboose leaned against him and Church took the cookies he brought with him out of his bag. Caboose smiled faintly. They both weren’t hungry, but they opened the box anyway and took one.

“Dad loved to make these for me…,” Caboose said as he inspected the cookie in his hands. “What if…what if I forget what they taste like?”

Church didn’t realize his heart could drop even lower than it already had. “You won’t,” he told him, bringing him closer. “You have to remember all the memories you have of him. He’ll live on in those memories and in you.” Church took a deep breath, remember all those family dinner nights he had been invited to, all those heartfelt conversations he had with Mr. Caboose about how he was so happy his son had a friend like Church. “He was so fucking _proud_ of you Caboose.”

Caboose, crying silently, smiled and took a bite out of his cookie.

And they spent the rest of the night leaning against each other, eating an entire box of chocolate chip cookies and listening to the rain and the thunder that lasted throughout the night.


	7. The Jazz Age

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since today is Monty Oum's birthday I decided to put all my procrastination aside and write this chapter! Monty had always worked hard to make things that made people happy and I figured I would honor him that way by writing something I knew made people happy. So, thank you Monty for inspiring me everyday <3

“How’s Caboose doing?”

“Huh?” Church lifted his head to look at Tucker who was sitting across from him at their lunch table. His eyes had been fixated on the oddly colored mash potatoes and carrots on his tray, absentmindedly mixing them together which made it look worse than it already did. Who the hell did his Dad hire to make these gross school lunches anyway? Every piece of food looked like a health code violation.

“I said, how’s your boyfriend doing?” Tucker asked with a bit more sass than before. Church rolled his tired blue eyes at his friend before setting his fork down to hold his head up with his hands.

“How do you think?” Church groaned. He was exhausted. Physically and emotionally. It had been a week since Caboose’s Dad died. Caboose was a mess, well, more of a mess than usual. Church had gone to the funeral that was held a few days later, dressed in his old church clothes he hadn’t worn since Christmas a few years ago (let’s just say the Church family wasn’t very religious but his Grandma was, trying to get him to go to church with her when she could). Caboose was teary eyed the whole time, but who could blame him. Church just held his hand throughout the service and stayed with him at the grave even after everyone had left.

Caboose’s Mom thought it was best for Caboose to take some time off from school. Church wanted to do the same, so he could be there for his friend, but like hell his Dad would let him miss that much school. It would ruin his “reputation” as Director of the school district. So, Church would visit his boyfriend (that still sounds so weird to say) after school every day, bringing snacks and homework for them to do together to get their mind off of things. He would be lying to say there wasn’t a few make out sessions as well, whenever Caboose was up for it.

Even though he was happy to help out Caboose whenever he needed it, Church was just constantly drained from doing everyday activities. It’s like he didn’t have room to breathe. He didn’t understand it, really. Everyone was always asking how he was doing, or how Caboose was doing, etc. He kind of just wanted all of this to be over already.

“God, it’s like you’re in more of a mood than usual. Your mood is having a mood,” Tucker sneered, taking a sip of his carton milk.

Church took the opportunity to fling gross mash potatoes at Tucker, which of course, he failed to avoid.

“Ew, gross dude! Will this stain?” He asked as he furiously tried to wipe out the mashed potatoes with a napkin.

“Dude, you sound like Donut,” Church snickered as he went back to moving his food around with no intent of ever eating it.

“Well, excuse me if I wanna look good 24/7,” Tucker shrugged, moving his head to look around Church. Church raised an eyebrow and looked behind him, only to see the back of that familiar bleached blonde head.

“Seriously? This again?” Church sighed as he turned to look back at his friend.

“What? No,” Tucker laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

“I thought you hated him,” Church pointed out.

“Hate is a strong word…,” Tucker trailed off.

“You know, I don’t have time for your weird on again off again crush with Washington,” he said, more tired than annoyed.

“You’re crushing on Washington?” Church almost stabbed himself with his plastic fork when he heard Tex’s voice as she approached their table with her brown bagged lunch.

It’s true that him and Tex were on fairly good terms now, but they still weren’t “friends™”. They still had a long road ahead of them. It’s just right now wasn’t the best time for Tex to be trying to pave that road. Church didn’t have the strength to lift any concrete.

“No!” Tucker said, a little too loudly.

Tex giggled and sat down next to Tucker, taking an apple out of her bag. “You look like a pile of shit,” she said, nodding at Church.

“Wow, thanks, and you look like the epitome of rainbows and sunshine,” Church scoffed, narrowing his eyes at her. He knew it was just playful banter but the words brought back some of that hurt that was still buried in him.

“Oh, calm down Leonard,” Tex rolled her eyes and took a harsh bite out of her apple.

“Yeah, _Leonard,_ ” Tucker repeated with a laugh.

“You know what you need to do?” Tex pointed at him while munching on her apple. “Take Caboose on a date. I think both of you need some fun right now.”

Church’s eyes widened. How come he hadn’t thought of that? “That’s actually a really good idea. It could help Caboose cheer up without having to be stuck inside his house all day.”

“See, I’m a genius,” Tex smiled her thin lipped smile that used to drive Church crazy.

“One problem,” Church chewed on his lip. “Where do I take him?”

“Well, where does Caboose like to go? You’re the one who’s dating him dude, you should know this,” Tucker told him.

“Uh,” Church actually had to think for a bit. Really all him and Caboose would do is play videogames or watch movies and shit. “He likes to…go…to…places…?”

Tucker and Tex looked at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world. Which, to be fair, probably wasn’t too far off.

“Dinner and a movie. Standard first date,” Tucker suggested.

“Yeah, yeah that works! Thanks guys,” Church said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed.

“He’s doomed,” Tucker said, only loud enough for Tex to hear it.

“Totally,” Tex sighed.

* * *

 

Church decided to go all out on this cliché-first-date thing. He wore his nicest blue collared shirt and jeans, picked up roses and chocolates on his way home from school, and even put on cologne. It felt weird, dressing up to see someone he had already known for years, but still having it feel like this was the first time really meeting him.

Church knocked on the door to Caboose’s house. When it opened he saw his boyfriend, still in pajamas with the cutest bed-head ever. He rose an eyebrow at Church when he saw him, arms outstretched holding his gifts.

“Uh, Church, what’s this?” he asked.

“I, um, I’m taking you out on a date. I thought you would like these,” Church blushed as Caboose took them from his hands. His boyfriend smiled, a real smile that Church hasn’t seen in a week.

“Thank you Church! These roses are super pretty! And I love chocolate!”

“Yeah, I know you do,” Church laughed a little.

“I’ll go get dressed then we can go!” Caboose said excitedly as he raced upstairs.

Once Caboose was dressed they got in Church’s car (well, his Dad’s car) and set off on the road. Dinner first then the movie. A few minutes later they pulled up to their destination.

McDonalds. One thing Church knew for sure was that Caboose liked McDonalds. So, it might not be the fanciest place in the world, but as long as Caboose liked it then it was all good, right?

Church was about to park so they could go inside when he saw Carolina inside with all of her swim team buddies. Church was not about to get teased by his sister and her friends so he decided to go through the drive through and they could eat in the car. Romantic, right? Don’t people like weird ass out of the box dates or something?

Church parked in the back of the McDonalds, opening up his cheeseburger as Caboose dug into his Happy Meal, looking for the toy.

It was darker out now, the only light in the car was from the streetlight they were parked under, which flickered every couple of minutes. The two sat in silence as they ate. Church felt a little awkward. What was he supposed to do? He didn’t know how to date Caboose. He knew how to date Tex. And that was all motorcycles and cutting class and doing reckless things. But that wasn’t Caboose. Was Caboose McDonalds and movies and flickering street lights?

“I like your eyes,” Caboose said all of a sudden.

“Huh?”

“Your eyes, they’re like the color of the sky a little after a storm passes. Blue but with hints of grey,” Caboose described.

“T-Thanks,” Church blushed. “But why did you say that?”

“That’s what you’re supposed to do on dates right? Compliment each other?”

“I guess? I mean, it’s more than that,” Church tried to explain.

“Well, I’m just going to keep doing it,” Caboose said and took a sip from his milkshake. “I like how you’re always cold too because then I can let you wear my sweatshirts and you look really cute in them. I like how sometimes when you’re angry your face gets all red and it’s funny because I know you’re actually not that mad, you just like to think you’re an angry person. I also like how much you care about people, and how much you care about me.”

Church stared at him blankly. He didn’t have any words to say. He just felt all warm and fuzzy inside about all that stuff Caboose had said about him. It’s like something clicked inside his head. Church shouldn’t see people as events. Tex wasn’t just a leather jacket and smokescreen and loud engines, she was smart and tough and badass. And Caboose wasn’t just cookies and blue sweatshirts and untied shoelaces, he was sweet and compassionate and dorky. This whole time Church was seeing people has places he was stopping in, taking pictures and making memories and getting mad when he can’t go back instead of seeing them as he should. As people.

Church smiled and kissed his boyfriend that tasted like salty fries as the light flickered above them yet again. “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Duh,” Caboose laughed, kissing him on the cheek.

“I think I know how to go on dates now,” Church told him. “We just do what we usually do and have fun.”

“I like that,” Caboose smiled. “I could use some fun.”

Church ruffled Caboose’s still bed-head and started his car again. “Let’s go see this movie and if it’s boring we are totally going to make out and have a ton of fun.”

“Yay! Kissing! Fun! Movies!” Caboose cheered as they drove away from the McDonalds parking lot.

It was amazing how Caboose’s words could change Church’s perspective on everything. He just hadn’t realized that people could feel that way about him, that they weren’t just there to be in the way or to fill a place next to him where someone should be. Church smiled, because it felt so good to be loved, and it felt even better to be loved by Caboose.


	8. VE Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the last chapter! Sorry it's kinda short, it's more of just a wrap up chapter. Also sorry for the wait as always. I hope you guys enjoy it!

The rest of Sophomore year went by pretty swimmingly, if Church said so himself. After a few more weeks Caboose was back to his peppy, cute, dorky self and it was almost as if things had gone back to normal. Though, their normal was far from what it used to be. But Church was enjoying his new normal.

He did sometimes catch Caboose in sad states, when he would remember his dad. Church would always be there for his boyfriend when he needed him, showing up at his doorstep with chocolate chip cookies and some video games.

Church and Tex actually did start to become friends again. It took a while, but with Caboose and Tucker’s help they can now stand each other. Tex actually was a pretty great friend to the guys. Church even convinced her to join the swim team next year, since she kept bringing up how she was thinking about joining.

Tucker was still a dumb ass idiot. He was totally crushing on Wash but every time Church brought it up Tucker would just say he still wasn’t over their fight. Church would just roll his eyes, knowing that the two of them were bound to get over it eventually.

History class was horrible. Mr. Flowers was probably the most positive person on the planet, it drove Church nuts. At least he had his friends to help him out when he was on the verge of exploding on poor Mr. Flowers.

Church wasn’t really surprised to see that Grif and Simmons were still together at the end of the year. Even though they fought and bickered constantly the two dorks really did love each other.

Also Doc and Donut were a thing. Church always had a suspicion that they were a thing but Donut decided to make it official by stopping everyone in the middle of the hallways to re enact some soliloquy from Romeo and Juliet to Doc then asked him out. Doc, extremely embarrassed, said yes nonetheless because honestly he should’ve expected this from Donut.

At the end of the year they all decided to throw a party at Grif’s giant ass house. Carolina was invited and decided to invite the entire swim team too. Partying with your sister is weird, especially when she had just broken up with her boyfriend York, who was trying to play it off cool but at the end of the night was drunk crying in the bathtub with North trying to console him.

Church had never seen Caboose drunk before and boy, was that an adventure. If you thought Caboose was incoherent sober you have never tried to talk to him when he’s had a few margaritas.

“Listen-Listen, Church,” he said, leaning against his boyfriend as he lead them outside. His tall frame was slowly crushing him but Church was able to make it out the door and too the pool without collapsing. “Why are we, s’we, goin to da weird lake.”

“The pool Caboose, it’s called a pool,” Church chuckled as he grabbed a chair and plopped Caboose down in it. Church pulled up another one and sat down next to him. Church didn’t drink that much, wanting to be prepared for whatever drunk Caboose was going unleash. So far it was going much better than he expected.

“Do you believe in bestiny, Church?” Caboose suddenly asked, his head tilted up as his bright blue eyes stared up at the night sky.

“Destiny, you mean destiny,” Church corrected.

Caboose hiccuped loudly before saying, “Mhm, destiny.”

Church shrugged, not really having an answer. “I don’t know, I mean I think it’s a nice thought, that everything happens for a reason. It’s comforting. I’m just not sure the universe would ever be so kind as to give us a destiny.”

“Stop being so…so…circular,” Caboose narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend.

“Circular?” Okay, Church wasn’t sure if he could figure that one out.

“Yeah, like, cylinder,” Caboose now had his eyes closed as he tried to think of the word.

“Oh! Cynical!” Church realized.

“Cynical!” Caboose repeated with about ten times more enthusiasm in his voice.

“Well, I just happen to be a cynical person, you know this buddy,” he laughed a little at Caboose’s expression, which was a mix of confusion and wonder.

“I know, but I like it better when you’re a happy Church,” he smiled and leaned his head on Church’s shoulder.

“Yeah, me too,” Church said softly, leaning his head against Caboose’s.

“If destiny is real,” Caboose started, grabbing Church’s hand and intertwining their fingers, “I’m glad my destiny was to meet you.”

Church smiled, feeling his face flush red. “Me too buddy, me too.”

As Caboose slowly started to doze off on his shoulder Church looked up into the starry night sky. He took a deep breath of air. It was weird how a person could make or break you. In the beginning of the year Tex had been the source of his problems, a person he went from loving to hating to liking. And it was Caboose who was there to make his life better, the friend he went from hating to liking to loving.

And now that he thought about it, he’s never been happier than he was in that moment, with his drunk boyfriend asleep on his shoulder, holding his hand so tightly as if he was going to lose him, with all his friends inside having the times of their lives, and the stars shining so brightly as though they were lighting up just for them.

Maybe life wasn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! I would like to thank everyone who gave kudos, bookmarked, and commented on this story! To be honest I wanted to make all the fics in this series (We Have Something Together) all have 10 chapters but I didn't have that big of a plot for this story so it ended up being a little shorter than intended. Also sorry for taking so long to update this story, with going to college and having to transfer and all this other stuff going on I really didn't have a lot of time/inspiration for this story. But I have to say reading all your nice comments definitely make my day and made the tougher days a lot better, so I really appreciate it :) 
> 
> BUT I'M NOT DONE YET! The first chapter of my tuckington fic is up now! It's called We Have Business Together. This actually might end up going over 10 chapters, since it has more of a plot than the other two fics, but we'll see how that plays out. Anyway thanks again!


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